Reading the House Of Hades
by kuntakintae
Summary: The war is won, and both camps, gods and everyone is celebrating. But the Fates decided to crash into it and gave them a book. Guess what the book is? Obviously the House of Hades! What will their reactions be to the seven's journey? Read and find out! Set after Giant war, assuming everyone is alive and well.


**Hi guys! This is he first time i'm doing something like this, so constructive criticism would be nice! I hope you guys will like it! PLS R&R! **

**~Kuntakintae**

**Disclaimer:I do not own anything in this story, especially not the House Of Hades. All this belongs to Rick Riordan**

**p.s: If any of you read my other stories, know that I may not be able to update in time cuz I'm really busy these few days, but I'll try my best :)**

* * *

It was the day of the celebration of Gaea's defeat. The gods were holding the huge celebration on Mount Olympus itself, with both Romans and Greeks present. Romans and Greeks were walking all over the place, patting each other's backs and laughing together.

Never before in the history of the gods' rule did the two sides ever celebrate together. The two groups had always been at each other's throats when they met. This was the first time they ever got long.

The gods themselves had never expected this to happen. As they watched the celebration, wonder and amusement washed into their minds. They had never fathomed the two groups getting along so well before, and the sight before them had – they would never admit it – astounded all of them.

The seven heroes of the war – the Heroes of Olympus – were all present too. Currently, Percy and Annabeth were sitting at one of the balconies, looking at the stars. Some people could never get why the couple always seemed to talk to the stars after their time in Tartarus.

Some said it was because the couple had realized that the sky they always saw was a beauty, compared to Tartarus, but many thought that that wasn't only the reason.

In fact, many people had been asking the couple relentlessly about what had happened in Tartarus, but they always avoided the question and walked away.

Leo had finally gotten Calypso out of her prison, and was currently enjoying a drink with her. For the first time ever, he felt truly happy, exuberant, overjoyed. Calypso herself had twinkling eyes, her whole being radiating happiness. Many stared at the couple with sighs on their lips.

Jason and Piper were dancing on the dance floor whilst talking softly to each other with smiles on their faces. Frank and Hazel were doing the same.

All the gods, demigods and major gods that had fought against Gaea were present. They had all earned their rights to be there.

Zeus was watching the whole celebration from his throne when the whole celebration suddenly froze. He was eerily reminded about his father's ability to stop time, but he stayed calm. For some reason, this scene felt familiar. Or at least, the power behind it felt familiar.

"The Fates." He greeted with a stony face as they appeared right before him.

"Hello, Lord Zeus." The lead ancient woman greeted.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, his tone staying neutral. He had learned a long time ago that the Fates are not to be trifled with. He frowned as the woman made a book appear on her hand out of nowhere.

"The House Of Hades?" Zeus asked.

"This book describes whatever that happened during the period of time the seven made their way to the doors of death." Clotho told him. His eyes widened a fraction in slight surprise.

"This depicts Percy and Annabeth's trip to Tartarus?" He asked as he read the cover when he retrieved the book. The Fates nodded.

"Read this to everyone. We find no harm in telling the story, now that it is over. There are other books, but this is the most sought after one by both gods and demigods due to Tartarus. Hence, we decided to give you this book first." They said simultaneously before disappearing.

Time started to flow once again, and all but a few of them seemed to notice something had happened. The other gods, for one. Calypso, as well as the seven had noticed too. He grudgingly admitted that for the demigods to notice…it was impressive.

"Silence!" His voice rang out, louder than everything else. Immediately, the place quieted down as everyone's eyes focused on the king of gods.

Once he was sure everyone was concentrated on him, he held up the book.

"The fates have sent us a book, which describes a very specific span of time during the seven's quest." His eyes shifted from one of the seven to the other, and finally resting on Annabeth and Percy.

"The name of the book, is called the House Of Hades. It describes the seven's journey whilst Annabeth and Percy travelled through Tartarus."

The reaction of everyone was instantaneous. Whispers, shouts and mutterings could immediately be heard throughout the entire place. Everyone was talking.

Everyone except the seven and Nico di Angelo. They, unlike all the others, were pale and silent, eyes expressing shock and pain, and a thousand other emotions. Especially Annabeth and Percy's.

"Silence!" He ordered once again. Once everyone quieted down, he continued his speech.

"I would like to invite all Major gods, the seven, Nico di Angelo, Greek and Roman leaders to step forward, whilst the rest seat a little further away from the thrones. The leaders, gods and the seven themselves will read the book." He said. Everyone immediately started moving. After all, no one wanted to miss out on what happened to the seven.

Once everything was done, with the seven, leaders of both camps and major gods seated, he announced that he would read the first chapter. The room's atmosphere was filled with excitement. Everyone was fidgeting around, everyone except the seven and Nico di Angelo.

Finally, Zeus cleared his throat, signaling that he was about to start reading.

**Hazel **He started.

** During the third attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder.**

"Such an optimistic start…" Hermes said, sarcasm dripping in his voice. Several chuckles could be heard across the place.

**She was peering into the fog, wondering how it could be so difficult to fly across one stupid mountain range,**

"I can already guess something bad is about to happen, with the way she's speaking," Jake said with laughter in his voice.

**when the ship's alarm sounded.**

"I guess we all knew something like that would happen." Chris sighed. All the demigods nodded their heads in agreement.

** 'Hard to port!' Nico yelled from the foremast of the flying ship.**

** Back at the helm, Leo yanked the wheel. The **_**Argo II **_**veered left, its aerial oars slashing through the clouds like rows of knives.**

"Awesome ship." Many campers, both Greek and Roman muttered. Leo grinned when he heard it, stood up and bowed like a magician who had just performed a magic trick.

"Thank you, thank you!" He exclaimed, over-exaggerating his bow that his face almost touched his knee. Calypso, who had been recovered after Leo had a long 'talk' with the gods, pulled him back down and bonked him on the head. Hard.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Leo whined. But before she could reply, Zues carried on reading, not really in the mood to hear another couple argument.

Gods, he already had enough of those with Hera.

** Hazel made the mistake of looking over the rail. A dark spherical shape hurtled towards her. She thought, **_**Why is the moon coming at us? **_**Then she yelped and hit the deck. The huge rock passed so close overhead it blew her hair out of her face.**

"Now, now, children, learn from Hazel and never look over the rail of a ship," Travis Stoll said, his face dead serious, but eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You might just see the moon, which is a few _thousand_ miles away, come at you at a hundred miles per hour." Travis finished, giving a teasing smirk to Hazel, whom glared daggers at him in return.

"Shut up, Stoll." She muttered, blushing a little while a few campers chuckled.

_** CRACK!**_

As Zeus said it, lightning crackled outside. Many of the campers jumped as the lightning boomed.

"Control yourself, brother." Poseidon muttered. Hades seemed to be muttering about Zeus being too theatrical whilst rolling his eyes. Zeus glared at the both of them.

"What loving brothers." He said sarcastically. Both of them gave him evil grins.

** The foremast collapsed – sail, spars and Nico all crashing onto the deck. The boulder, roughly the size of a pickup truck, tumbled off into the fog like it had important business elsewhere.**

"Man, Hazel," Dakota whistled. "You really have a wild way of describing stuff. A boulder having important business?" Dakota asked with an arched eyebrow. Hazel groaned in embarrassment and hid her face in Frank's chest.

"Shut up and get it over with…" Her muffled voice carried out through the place. Laughter could be heard from the Stolls, while many of the campers smiled.

** 'Nico!' Hazel scrambled over to him as Leo brought the ship level.**

** 'I'm fine,' Nico muttered, kicking folds of canvas off his legs.**

** She helped him up, and they stumbled to the bow. Hazel peeked over more carefully this time. **

"If not, you may mistake a boulder for the moon again." Connor casually teased.

"Give her a break." Frank said as Hazel buried her face deeper into Frank's chest. Aphrodite could be heard squealing at the sight, but Zeus' voice overpowered hers.

**The clouds parted just long enough to reveal the top of the mountain god – one of the **_**numina montanum, **_**Jason called them. Or **_**ourae**_**, in Greek. Whatever you called them, they were nasty.**

"Children of Gaea. Obviously they're against them." Athena stated.

"Didn't need to know that, Owl head." Poseidon said. Athena glared at him and opened her mouth to retort, but Zeus quickly continued reading.

** Like the others they faced, this one wore a simple white tunic over skin as rough and dark as basalt. He was about twenty feet tall and extremely muscular, with a flowing white beard, scraggly hair and a wild look in his eyes, like a crazy hermit. **

"Good description," Jason muttered.

"Man," Leo started. "Those mountain gods were the most irritating part of the quest."

**He bellowed something Hazel didn't understand, but it obviously wasn't welcoming. **

"No duh. They're throwing rocks at you. They won't say something welcoming."

**With his bare hands, he prised another chunk of rock from his mountain and began shaping it into a ball.**

** The scene disappeared in the fog, but when the mountain god bellowed again other **_**numina**_** answered in the distance, their voices echoing through the valleys.**

"Wasn't nice to hear them at all." Frank stated.

** 'Stupid rock gods!' Leo yelled from the helm. 'That's the **_**third **_**time I've had to replace the mast! You think they grow on trees?'**

Katie Gardener raised an eyebrow at Leo. "They _do _come from trees…you know that, right?" She asked. Leo's eye twitched.

"I don't need to be reminded twice."

** Nico frowned. 'Masts **_**are**_** from trees'**

"See."

** 'That's not the point!' Leo snatched up one of his controls, rigged from a Nintendo Wii stick, and spun it in a circle. A few feet away, a trapdoor opened in the deck. A Celestial bronze cannon rose.**

"New upgrade?" Nyssa asked. Leo grinned at her and nodded.

**Hazel just had time to cover her ears before it discharged into the sky, spraying a dozen metal spheres that trailed green fire. The spheres grew spikes in midair, like helicopter blades, and hurtled away into the fog.**

** A moment later, a series of explosions crackled across the mountain, followed by the outraged roars of mountain gods.**

"Woah. That's freaking awesome!" Travis and Connor Stoll both exclaimed. Leo puffed out his chest, proud and was about to make some stupid comment when Calypso, once again, bonked him on the head.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, idiot." She said. Leo pouted, but calmed down anyway.

** 'Ha!' Leo yelled.**

"Valdez, that probably only irritated them." Artermis said with exasperation in her voice. Leo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

** Unfortunately, Hazel guessed, judging from their last two encounters, Leo's newest weapon had only annoyed the **_**numina**_**.**

Every one chuckled, as what Artermis just said was proven true.

** Another boulder whistled through the air off to their starboard side.**

** Nico yelled, 'Get us out of here!'**

"Best thing said so far." Jason said. Piper squeezed his hand softly.

** Leo muttered some unflattering comments about **_**numina**_**, but he turned the wheel. The engines hummed. Magical rigging lashed itself tight, and the ship tacked to port. The **_**Argo II **_**picked up speed, retreating northwest, as they'd been doing for the past two days.**

"Wasted too much time there," Hazel said, shaking her head.

** Hazel didn't relax until they were out of the mountains. The fog cleared. Below them, morning sunlight illuminated the Italian countryside – rolling green hills and golden fields not too different from those in northern California. Hazel could almost imagine she was sailing home to Camp Jupiter.**

Many of the campers looked entranced while imagining how the countryside looked like based on her description.

** The thought weighed on her chest. Camp Jupiter had only been her home for nine months, since Nico had brought her back from the underworld.**

"Wait," Zeus said. "He _what?"_

"Calm down, brother." Hades said. Zeus scowled, but decided to discuss this matter later.

Several campers looked at Hazel with sympathy. It must have been hard, to be so far away from home.

**But she missed it more than her birthplace of New Orleans, and **_**definitely**_** more than Alaska, where she'd died back in 1942.**

Again, Zeus scowled at the fact, but kept on reading. Frank squeezed Hazel tighter into him. They both looked fearful about what would happen later on, but not as scared as how normal demigods felt.

After all, facing Gaea _had _toughened them up considerably…enough for them not to be so scared of gods.

Not including Percy, of course. That guy had never really feared the gods even _before _the war.

Said person and Annabeth were quietly sitting together, holding on to each other, their faces stony.

** She missed her bunk in the Fifth Cohort barracks. She missed dinners in the mess hall, with wind spirits whisking platters through the air and legionnaires joking about the war games. She wanted to wander the streets of New Rome, holding hands with Frank Zhang. She wanted to experience just being a regular girl for once, with an actual sweet, caring boyfriend.**

Aphrodite's squeals almost broke some of the campers' ears. Everyone winced as her high-pitched squeals rebounded off the walls of the palace.

Many of the campers actually cooed once they recovered from the squeals, which caused said couple to blush as bright as a tomato.

** Most of all, she wanted to feel safe. She was tired of being scared and worried all the time. **

Everyone nodded in agreement. Being a demigod…safety was rarely promised.

** She stood on the quarterdeck as Nico picked mast splinters out of his arms and Leo punched buttons on the ship's console. **

** 'Well, **_**that **_**was sucktastic,' Leo said. **

"No such word." Athena said with a frown as laughter could be heard throughout the place

"Well, we're adding that into our dictionary." Hermes stated as he and Apollo high-fived. Artermis rolled her eyes and smacked Apollo on the back of his head.

'**Should I wake the others?'**

"Of course."

** Hazel was tempted to say yes, but the other crew members had taken the night shift and had earned their rest. They were exhausted defending the ship. Every few hours, some Roman monster had decided the **_**Argo II**_** looked like a tasty treat.**

"Monsters are quite stupid," Leo whined. "I mean, the one thing that could kill them, and they decide to attack a whole ship made of celestial bronze."

** A few weeks ago, Hazel wouldn't have believed that anyone could sleep through the **_**numina **_**attack, but now she imagined her friends were still snoring away belowdecks. Whenever **_**she **_**got a chance to crash, she slept like a coma patient. **

"As long as you don't fall into a real coma." Frank said to Hazel, who smiled at him and chuckled.

** 'They need rest,' She said. 'We'll have to figure out another way on our own.'**

Many of the campers were screaming in their heads, _"NO, wrong move! Wrong move!"_

** 'Huh.' Leo scowled at his monitor. In his tattered work shirt and grease-splattered jeans, he looked like he'd just lost a wrestling match with a locomotive.**

"What's a locomotive?" Leo asked with a frown. Calypso didn't know too, so she asked Hazel, who proceeded to explain as Zues carried on talking.

** Ever since their friends Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus,**

The atmosphere immediately grew heavier. Percy and Annabeth could feel all the eyes on them, but didn't react to it. They had nothing to say. All they did was hug each other tighter.

Calypso looked at Percy and Annabeth, and bit her lip, regret crashing like waves into her.

**Leo had been working almost non-stop. He'd been acting angrier and even more driven than usual.**

"Must have been pretty hard." Nyssa said. Leo merely shook his head.

** Hazel worried about him. But part of her was relieved by the change. Whenever Leo smiled and joked, he looked **_**too **_**much like Sammy, his great grandfather… Hazel's first boyfriend, back in 1942.**

"Thanks for being such a caring friend, Hazel." Leo said teasingly. Hazel would actually have regretted a bit, if it wasn't for Leo's big, annoying grin.

** Ugh, why did her life have to be so complicated?**

"You're not the only one."

** 'Another way,' Leo muttered. 'Do you see one?'**

"If only things were that easy." Someone muttered from the crowd. Murmurs of agreement could be heard.

** On his monitor flowed a map of Italy. The Apennine Mountains ran down the middle of the boat-shaped country. A green dot for the **_**Argo II **_**blinked on the western side of the range, a few hundred miles north of Rome. **

"That's freaking cool," Gwen said to Leo. "You need to make some of these for us, whilst making it undetectable to monsters. It would save lots of loves." Leo nodded.

"Son of Hephaestus, so no prob." Leo grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. Said god looked at his son with something akin to pride.

**Their path should have been simple. **

"Everything should be simple, but never is with a demigod."

**They needed to get to a place called Epirus in Greece to find an old temple called the House of Hades (or Pluto, as the Romans called him; or as Hazel liked to think of him: the World's Worst Absent Father).**

"Well, sorry." Hades apologized in a not-so-sorry tone, but he really meant it. He couldn't do anything much for his children during that time, and being Hades…well, it didn't help his social skills.

Hazel seemed to know this as well, as did Nico. Both of them nodded, albeit grudgingly.

** To reach Epirus, all they had to do was go straight east – over the Apennines and across the Adriatic Sea. But it hadn't worked out that way. **

"It _never _works out properly."

**Each time they tried to cross the spine of Italy, the mountain gods attacked.**

"No surprise there."

** For the past two days they'd skirted north, hoping to find a safe pass, with no luck. The **_**numina montanum **_**were sons of Gaia, Hazel's least favourite goddess. That made them very determined enemies.**

"They said it in the book, barnacle beard. So it's important." Athena immediately spoke up. Poseidon scowled, but could not find anything to retort with, so he remained silent.

**The **_**Argo II **_**couldn't fly high enough to avoid their attacks and, even with all its defences, the ship couldn't make it across the range without being smashed to pieces.**

** 'It's our fault,' Hazel said. 'Nico's and mine. The **_**numina**_** can sense us.'**

"If what I heard was true," Poseidon started. "They're carrying the Athena Parthenos, which is already a magical beacon, so its not their fault…if anything, it's _hers."_ Poseidon accused, pointing at Athena.

Athena glared at him, but she knew it was true.

** She glanced at her half-brother. Since they'd rescued him from the giants, he'd started to regain his strength, but he was still painfully thin. His black shirt and jeans hung off his skeletal frame. Long dark hair framed his sunken eyes. His olive complexion had turned to a sickly greenish white, like the colour of tree sap.**

Several campers winced as they heard his description. All their eyes fell upon said boy, who was shifting uncomfortably where he sat. He had almost gotten back to his old body size, but he still lacked a little.

** In human years, he was barely fourteen, just a year older than Hazel. But that didn't tell the whole story. Like Hazel, Nico di Angelo was a demigod from another era. He radiated a kind of **_**old **_**energy – a melancholy that came from knowing that he didn't belong in the modern world. **

Hazel and Nico shared a look, which did not escape Hades' attention. He sighed to himself. All his children always suffered, which saddened him to a certain extent.

** Hazel hadn't known him very long, but she understood, even shared, his sadness. The children of Hades (Pluto – whichever) rarely had happy lives. **

Hades let out an even deeper sigh when the book just more or less repeated what he had thought.

**And, judging form what Nico had told her the night before, their biggest challenge was yet to come when they reached the House of Hades – a challenge he'd implored her to keep secret from the others.'**

"Not such a good strategy." Athena stated.

"Oh, quiet down, owl head." Poseidon sighed.

** Nico gripped the hilt of his Stygian iron sword. 'Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true. We get under their skin – **_**literally. **_**But I think the **_**numina **_**could sense this ship anyway. We're carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon.'**

Poseidon grinned triumphantly at Athena, who avoided his gaze, annoyed.

** Hazel shivered, thinking of the massive statue that took up most of the hold. They'd sacrificed so much saving it from the cavern under Rome, but they had no idea what to do with it. So far the only thing it seemed to be good for was alerting more presence of their presence.**

Athena scowled at that. It made her sound like an annoyance instead of help…though maybe it was true until they found out how to use it.

** Leo traced his finger down the map of Italy. 'So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is they go a long way in either direction.'**

** 'We could go by sea,' Hazel suggested. 'Sail around the southern tip of Italy.'**

** 'That's a long way,' Nico said. 'Plus we don't have…' His voice cracked. 'You know…our sea expert, Percy.'**

Even though they all knew that Percy was safe and sound, and right before them, they still felt strangely sad and worried for him. Which was ridiculous.

Said boy merely stared sadly at the book, and then at Nico. Their gazes met, and they both nodded to each other.

They had settled Nico's…feelings after the giant war, and were now back on okay terms.

** The name hung in the air like an impending storm.**

"Said person can made a storm anytime." Connor proclaimed. Percy cracked a small grin, but was still feeling really pained and worried. Annabeth squeezed his hand, knowing exactly what he was worried about.

** Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon…probably the demigod Hazel admired the most.**

Percy looked at Hazel in surprise.

"Why?" Percy asked in a pained voice. "I'm not a good role model…trust me."

Something in his voice told everyone that there was more to it than just his recklessness and usual flaws. Hazel shook her head.

**He'd save her life so many times on their quest to Alaska, but when he had needed Hazel's help in Rome she'd failed him. She'd watched, powerless, as he and Annabeth had plunged down into that pit.**

Percy couldn't help but walk to Hazel and give her a small hug.

"It's not your fault." He whispered to her. A lone tear slid down her cheek, but she nodded.

"I'm sorry." She replied.

"What did I just say," Percy replied, rolling his eyes. For a moment, the old Percy was back. Hazel cracked a smile and nodded. Percy then walked back to Annabeth and wrapped his arm around her again.

** Hazel took a deep breath. Percy and Annabeth were still alive. She knew that in her heart. She could **_**still **_**help them if she could get to the House of Hades, if she could survive the challenge Nico had warned her about…**

** 'What about continuing north?' She asked. 'There **_**has **_**to be a break in the mountains, or something.'**

"Don't be so sure." Hera said.

** Leo fiddled with the bronze Archimedes sphere that he'd installed in the console – his newest and most dangerous toy.**

"It's not a toy!"

**Every time Hazel looked at the thing, her mouth went dry. She worried that Leo would turn the wrong combination on the sphere and accidentally eject them all from the deck, or blow up the ship, or turn the **_**Argo II**_** into a giant toaster.**

"And thanks for the faith in me, Hazel!" Said girl rolled her eyes again, but gave Leo an apologetic smile.

** Fortunately, they got lucky. The sphere grew a camera lens and projected a 3-D image of the Apennine Mountains above the console.**

"Once again, thanks!"

** 'I dunno.' Leo examined the hologram. 'I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like the idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome.'**

All the romans frowned a little at that, but most of them understood why they were done with Rome.

** No one argued with that. Rome had not been a good experience. **

** 'Whatever we do' Nico said, 'we have to hurry. Every day that Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus…'**

Everyone glanced at the two, worried. Percy and Annabeth sighed.

"Look, guys," Annabeth spoke up. "We're here and we're safe, so please stop staring at us as though we're still…down…there…okay?" She had difficulty speaking in the end. Everyone nodded.

** He didn't need to finish. They had to hope Percy and Annabeth could survive long enough to find the Tartarus side of the Doors of Death. Then, assuming the **_**Argo II**_** could reach the House of Hades, they **_**might **_**be able to open the Doors on the mortal side, save their friends and seal the entrance, stopping Gaia's forces from being reincarnated in the mortal world over and over.**

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Nothing could go wrong with _that _plan." She stated sarcastically.

** Yes…nothing could go wrong with **_**that**_** plan.**

"I'm so lucky this isn't Leo." Clarisse stated. Several campers chuckled as Leo started to protest.

**Nico scowled at the Italian countryside below them. 'Maybe we **_**should **_**wake the others. This decision affects us all.'**

"Yes, _please._" Jason said, glaring at Hazel, who didn't look sorry at all.

'**No,' Hazel said. 'We can find a solution.'**

The glare was back, but Hazel merely shrugged.

**She wasn't sure why she felt so strongly about it, but since leaving Rome the crew had started to lose its cohesion.**

"Percy is their backbone. That's why I said he was the most important one." Hera said to no one in particular.

**They'd been learning to work as a team. Then **_**bam…**_** their two most important members had fallen into Tartarus. Percy had been their backbone. He'd given them confidence as they sailed across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. As for Annabeth – she'd been the de facto leader of the quest. She'd recovered the Athena Parthenos single-handedly. She was the smartest of the seven, the one with the answers.**

Athena looked at her daughter with pride. Annabeth smiled weakly at Athena in reply.

**If Hazel woke up the rest of the crew every time they had a problem. They'd just start arguing again, feeling more and more hopeless.**

"…Unfortunately, that's quite true." Piper stated. The rest of the seven sighed and nodded in agreement,

**She had to make Percy and Annabeth proud of her. She had to take the initiative. She couldn't believe that her only role in this quest would be what Nico had warned her about – removing the obstacle waiting for them in the House of Hades. She pushed the thought aside.**

"Good. Better to concentrate on current problems first.

'**We need some creative thinking,' she said. 'Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the **_**numina.**_**'**

"Good luck with _that._"

**Nico sighed. 'If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And, honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport **_**myself **_**any more.'**

'**I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage,' Leo said, 'like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds.' He didn't sound very enthusiastic.**

"I was tired, okay?" Leo explained as everyone stared at him incredulously. Leo was always enthusiastic about building stuff.

**Hazel stared down at the rolling farmland, thinking about what lay beneath it – the realm of her father, lord of the Underworld. She'd only met Pluto once, and she hadn't even realized who he was. She certainly had never expected help from him – not when she was alive the first time, not during her time as a spirit in the Underworld, not since Nico had brought her back to the world of the living.**

As always, Hades sighed. Poseidon and Zeus were both getting a little annoyed at his constant sighs, but decided to talk to him later.

**Her dad's servant Thanatos, god of death, had suggested that Pluto might be doing Hazel a favour by ignoring her. After all, she wasn't supposed to be alive. If Pluto took notice of her, he might have to return her to the land of the dead.**

Hades nodded quietly. It was true. Zeus, on the other hand, glared at Hades for breaking the rules once again.

And then he remembered that he himself hadn't been so wise on his decisions, and his anger dissipated.

**Which meant calling on Pluto would be a very bad idea. And yet…**

"You're trusting this idiot to help?" Demeter asked in disbelief. "I think a bowl of cereal may cure your insanity. Want some?" Demeter asked Hazel, who shivered and shook her head.

_**Please, Dad, **_**she found herself praying. **_**I **_**have **_**to find a way to your temple in Greece – the House of Hades. If you're down there, show me what to do.**_

Hades let out a small smile. He remembered this part. It was one of the very rare cases that he had been able to help.

**At the edge of the horizon, a flicker of movement caught her eye – something small and beige racing across the fields at incredible speed, leaving a vapour trial like a plane's.**

**Hazel couldn't believe it. She didn't dare hope, but it **_**had **_**to be…'Arion.'**

"_That _Crazy horse?!" A few campers shouted. Hazel chuckled at their reactions.

Arion had done some crazy things to the campers while he stayed at the camps…eating whatever imperial gold he saw…or whatever metals…

Lets just say the children of Hephaestus had a hard time hiding their remaining metals from the horse.

'**What?' Nico asked.**

**Leo let out a happy whoop as the dust cloud got closer. 'It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!'**

**Hazel laughed – the first time she'd laughed in days. It felt so good to see her old friend.**

Poseidon looked proud of the horse, while Percy tried to stop imagining Poseidon doing _it _with a horse to produce that incredibly vulgar horse.

**About a mile to the north, the small beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summit. He was difficult to make out, but when the horse reared and whinnied the sound carried all the way to the **_**Argo II**_**. Hazel had no doubt – it was Arion.**

"Oh joy…" Percy muttered sarcastically. He and Arion didn't really have a good relationship.

'**We have to meet him,' She said. 'He's here to help.'**

'**Yeah, okay.' Leo scratched his head. 'But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground any more, remember? You know, with Gaia wanting to destroy us and all.'**

"Way to put it casually, Valdez." Reyna said, while Leo merely scratched his head sheepishly.

'**Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder.' Hazel's heart was pounding. 'I think Arion wants to tell me something.'**

"Whatever Arion says are usually full of rubbish and profanities…" Percy muttered.

"Well," Poseidon spoke up, "Let me read the next chapter." He said, taking the book from Zeus.


End file.
